LEGACY
1997
March
Pull and archive Sue Schmidt
Washington Post stories on lobbying
abuses as involves Oklahoma
Cheyenne-Arapaho Indian tribe;
2000
July
Pull and archive Jim Van
DeHei WSJ lobbying article on Jack
Abramoff;
Meet with David Safavian, future Bush
Administration GSA Chief of Staff
and OMB Administrator for Federal
Procurement Policy, at law offices of
McGuiness & Holch in order to discuss
internet gaming strategy. Tom Rodgers
states to David Safavian that “David
you need to stay away from Jack the
amount of money being discussed
is too large for it to be morally right.”
David’s response to Tom Rodgers is
“Tom why are you so
opposed to Jack?”
September
Pull and archive Cynthia Corzo Miami
Herald SunCruz Casino story naming
Jack Abramoff as a new part owner of
SunCruz;
2001
February
2002
April
Pull and archive Erika Bolstad Miami
Herald story on SunCruz Casino partner
Adam Kidan and accompanying murder
allegations;
Pull and archive David Rosenbaum New
York Times story on Jack Abramoff
and the amounts he is charging Native
American tribes;
June
Pull and archive Jim Legget Alexandria Town Talk article referencing Jack
Abramoff and efforts by him to stop the
Jena Choctaw casino;
Pull and archive Larry Lebowitz Miami
Herald story on SunCruz casinos and
alleged mob ties;
September
Pull and archive Larry Lebowitz Miami
Herald story on murder of SunCruz
casino founder Gus Boulis;
Pull and archive Peter Stone
National Journal story on K Street and
Indian Casinos which mentions Jack
Abramoff;
May/June
Research “Concerned Citizens Against
Gaming Expansion” (CAGE) who
are holding anti-gaming rallies in the
Livingston Texas area in order to shut
down the Alabama Coushatta Tribe of
Texas casino. This research leads to
Houston ,Texas and Potomac,
Maryland CAGE office locations but
these efforts yield no more information/
intelligence;
July
Travel to Livingston Texas to meet
with Alabama Coushatta Chairman
Kevin Battise where he tells Tom that a
$50,000 dollar donation by the Alabama
Coushatta Tribe has been made to
the Capitol Athletic Foundation (CAF).
This leads to the discovery through
guidestar.org research of IRS tax form
990-PF that CAF’s Board of Directors is
comprised of Jack and Pam Abramoff,
additionally the accompanying address
listed on the form is the Washington
D.C. office of Greenberg Traurig;
2003
July 24
January
Jack Abramoff in an e-mail message
calls the federal lobbyist for the
Alabama Coushatta Tribe of Texas
(Tom Rodgers) a moron for seeking
to publicly execute a federal
legislative strategy:
Bernie Sprague contacts Tom
Rodgers in order to tell Tom what is
occurring on the Saginaw Chippewa
reservation as involves their lobbyist
Jack Abramoff and asks for help.
They agree to work together and
share information;
November
Ernest Sickey and Tom Rodgers
meet in Palm Springs California to
discuss Jack Abramoff and what
Jack is doing to the Coushatta Tribe
of Louisiana. Ernest and Tom agree
to work together and share
information.
December
Apprise Bernie Sprague that
location of 611 Pennsylvania
Avenue S.E. # 375 where million
dollar Saginaw Chippewa checks
are being sent is a Mailbox Etc./
currently a UPS store;
Monica Quigly an attorney for the
Saginaw Chippewas contacts Tom
Rodgers and asks for help. She tells
him that he should be expecting a
phone call from Saginaw
Chippewa Tribal council member
Bernie Sprague;
Ernest Sickey former Chairman of
the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana
contacts Tom Rodgers after
hearing of Tom from Alabama
Coushatta Tribal Chairman Kevin
Battise. Ernest Sickey asks whether
Tom is available to meet in order to
discuss Jack Abramoff;
December 13
Pull and archive Shawn Martin
American Press story detailing the
Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana and
“Concerned Citizens Against
Gaming Expansion” relationship
(CAGE);
February
Bernie Sprague and Tom agree to
strategy of working with the local
media and then later to leak to
national media (Mount
Pleasant Morning Sun: MPMS).
Bernie and Tom subsequently leak
Jack Abramoff, Michael Scanlon
Capitol Campaign Strategies
documents (invoices/research/
political contributions list/fear
memorandums/written threats to
remove Bernie Sprague from the
council) to MPMS reporters Mark
Ranzenberger and Richard Harrold;
LEGACY
2003
March 17
Bernie Sprague and Mark Ranzenberger
meet for the first time at Bernie’s house
after initial phone conversations;
April 1st/4th/6th
Stories appear in Mount Pleasant
Morning Sun/AP State Local Wire
highlighting the forced removal of
MPMS newspaper boxes from the
Saginaw Chippewa reservation;
April 22
Pull and archive Lucy Morgan St.
Petersburg Times story detailing
Greenberg Traurig (GT) efforts in Florida
(Floridians for Family Values) to prohibit
gambling in Florida while at the same
time GT also represents Native
American gaming tribes;
May
David Sickey newly elected Coushatta
tribal council member and son of Ernest
Sickey contacts Tom Rodgers asking
for assistance. David and Tom agree to
share information and pursue the same
strategy employed in Michigan of
leaking to the local media and once
local story established leak to national
media (Julia Robb of Alexandria Town
Talk and Shawn Martin of the Lake
Charles American Press);
July
David Sickey of the Coushatta Tribe of
Louisana begins to contact and leak
information to the Alexandria Town Talk
and Lake Charles American Press;
2004
August/September
Assemble press packets (Abramoff
invoices, Scanlon invoices, fear
memorandums, Capitol Campaign
Strategies engagement letter, threat
of Bernie Sprague removal action, all
previous archived Jack Abramoff press
stories) and forward to national press
(Susan Schmidt at Washington Post
and Peter Stone National Journal) local
press where Jack Abramoff and GT
have Native American clients/offices
(Lake Charles Louisiana, Albuquerque
New Mexico, Palm Springs
California, Detroit Michigan, St.
Petersburg Florida, Jackson
Mississippi, Mount Pleasant Michigan)
and good government groups/media
reporters who consistently cover Native
American issues (Texans for Public
Justice, Citizens for Responsibility and
Ethics in Washington, Public Citizen,
Greg Smith of the Norwich Bulletin)
September/October
Alexandria Town Talk reporter Julia
Robb and Lake Charles American Press
reporter Shawn Martin stories begin to
appear in their respective newspapers;
September
Bernie Sprague and David Sickey begin
their efforts to contact and work with
Susan Schmidt of the Washington Post;
October
Tom Rodgers provides additional
context/sources for Susan Schmidt of
the Washington Post and hand delivers
to WP D.C. offices additional background materials;
February 16
Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana
Secretary Treasurer Harold John writes
to Secretary Norton to once again
request a federal investigation into the
failure of our federal trustee to assist
the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana in
protecting tribal assets and resources;
February 22
Initial Susan Schmidt Washington Post
Jack Abramoff story is published;
February/March
Contact Senate Indian Affairs
Committee and specifically the staff of
Senator John McCain (Pablo Carillo)
offering Native American assistance in
the congressional investigative probe of
Jack Abramoff;
People convicted in the Abramoff lobbying scandal
By The Associated Press
The Associated Press
Tuesday, March 10, 2009; 5:24 PM
• William Heaton, Ney’s former chief of staff, pleaded guilty to a federal conspiracy charge involving a golf trip
to Scotland, expensive meals, and tickets to sporting events between 2002 and 2004 as payoffs for helping
Abramoff’s clients. He cooperated with investigators and was sentenced to two years probation and a $5,000
fine.
Among the lawmakers, lobbyists, Bush administration officials, congressional staffers and
businessmen caught up in the Jack Abramoff public corruption probe:
• Neil Volz, a former chief of staff to Ney who left government to work for Abramoff, was sentenced to two years
of probation, 100 hours of community service and a $2,000 fine after pleading guilty to conspiring to corrupt
Ney and others with trips and other aid.
• Abramoff was sentenced in September 2008 to four years in prison on charges of mail fraud, conspiracy
and tax evasion. Since pleading guilty in 2006, the once-powerful lobbyist has cooperated with the federal
investigation of influence-peddling in Washington. He is nearly two years into a six-year prison sentence in a
criminal case out of Florida, where he pleaded guilty in January 2006 to charges of conspiracy, honest services
fraud and tax evasion in the purchase of gambling cruise boats.
• Mark Zachares, former aide to Rep. Don Young <http://projects.washingtonpost.com/congress/members/
y000033/> , R-Alaska, pleaded guilty to conspiracy. He acknowledged accepting tens of thousands of dollars
worth of gifts and a golf trip to Scotland from Abramoff’s team in exchange for official acts on the lobbyist’s
behalf.
• David Safavian, the government’s former chief procurement officer, was found guilty for a second time in
December 2008 for lying to investigators about his relationship with Abramoff, who provided gifts in return
for information from Safavian about government property the lobbyist wanted to acquire. Safavian’s 2006
conviction on similar charges was overturned on appeal. He is the only person to take his case to trial.
• John Albaugh, a one-time top aide to former Oklahoma Rep. Ernest Istook, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to
defraud the House. Albaugh admitted in federal court in Washington that he accepted meals and sports and
concert tickets, along with other perks, from lobbyists in exchange for official favors. He is cooperating with
investigators.
• Robert E. Coughlin II, a Justice Department official, pleaded guilty to conflict of interest. He admitted
in federal court in Washington that he accepted meals, concert tickets and luxury seats at Redskins and
Wizards games from a former Abramoff associate, lobbyist Kevin Ring, while helping the lobbyist and his
clients. Coughlin is cooperating with investigators.
• Italia Federici, co-founder of the Council of Republicans for Environmental Advocacy, was sentenced to
two months in a halfway house, four years on probation and a $74,000 fine after agreeing to help federal
investigators. She pleaded guilty to tax evasion and obstruction of a Senate investigation into Abramoff’s
relationship with Interior Department officials.
• Former Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio, sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison, acknowledged taking bribes from
Abramoff. Ney was in the traveling party on an Abramoff-sponsored golfing trip to Scotland at the heart of the
case against former White House official David Safavian. Ney was released in August 2008 a year early after
completing treatment for alcohol problems.
• Former Deputy Interior Secretary Steven Griles, the highest-ranking Bush administration official convicted
in the scandal, was sentenced to 10 months in prison for obstructing justice. He admitted lying to a Senate
committee about his relationship with Abramoff, who repeatedly sought Griles’ intervention at Interior on behalf
of Indian tribal clients.
• Tony Rudy, lobbyist and one-time aide to former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, pleaded guilty
in March 2006 to conspiring with Abramoff. He is cooperating with investigators.
• Michael Scanlon, a former Abramoff business partner and DeLay aide, pleaded guilty in November 2005 to
conspiring to bribe public officials in connection with his lobbying work on behalf of Indian tribes and casino
issues. He is cooperating with investigators.
• Trevor L. Blackann, a former aide to Missouri Republicans Sen. Kit Bond and Rep. Roy Blount, pleaded
guilty to not reporting $4,100 in gifts from lobbyists in return for helping clients of Abramoff and his associates.
Among the gifts were tickets to the World Series and concerts, plus meals and entertainment at a “gentleman’s
club.”
• James Hirni, a former Republican Senate aide and one-time Abramoff associate, pleaded guilty to using wire
communications to defraud taxpayers of congressional aides’ honest services. Hirni acknowledged providing
Blackann with meals, concert passes and tickets to the opening game of the 2003 World Series between the
Florida Marlins and the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium.
• Todd Boulanger, a former Abramoff deputy, pleaded guilty to lavishing congressional aides with meals
and tickets to sporting events, concerts and the circus in exchange for help with legislation favorable to his
clients.
• Ann Copland, a former aide to Mississippi Sen. Thad Cochran, pleaded guilty to taking more than $25,000
worth of concert and sporting event tickets in return for helping one of Abramoff’s top clients, the Mississippi
Band of Choctaw Indians.
• Roger Stillwell, a former Interior Department official, was sentenced to two years on probation in January
2007 after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor charge for not reporting hundreds of dollars worth of sports and
concert tickets he received from Abramoff.
• Former Abramoff business partner Adam Kidan was sentenced in Florida in March 2006 to nearly six years in
prison for conspiracy and fraud in the 2000 purchase of the Fort Lauderdale-based SunCruz Casinos gambling
fleet.